


That's the way I love you

by Etoile_Filante



Series: Fairgame Week 2020 [5]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Guilt, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Married Life, Self-Doubt, Taiyang "Team Fucker" Xiao Long, fairgameweek2020, fight
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-20
Updated: 2020-03-20
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:40:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23236354
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Etoile_Filante/pseuds/Etoile_Filante
Summary: Fairgame Week 2020, day 5 : Hurt/Comfort>>> “Clover and I had a fight okay? I just needed to get away.” Reluctantly admitted Qrow.“I see. And did you tell him that or did you run off mid-argument like the drama queen you’ve always been?”“Tai, please.”“So you did run off. " <<<Clover and Qrow had a fight. Qrow runs off to Taiyang who has a few things to say about his brother-in-law's behaviour.
Relationships: Qrow Branwen & Taiyang Xiao Long, Qrow Branwen/Clover Ebi
Series: Fairgame Week 2020 [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1665862
Comments: 4
Kudos: 67





	That's the way I love you

**Author's Note:**

> Hey there! It's the 21st here so technically I failed day 5. But I played Animal Crossing the entire day...  
> This fic takes place in my Fairgameweek timeline but can be read as a stand-alone! Qrow and Clover are married and living in Patch with their kids, Ciel and Gaia.  
> And they had a fight.  
> I proofread it but I'm really really tired so if there's any mistakes, please don't hesitate to tell me! (edit: Thanks to SassyOtter!)  
> Please keep in mind that English is not my mother-tongue. I hope you enjoy!

Old habits die hard. Qrow Ebi, a former bandit and alcoholic knew that better than anyone. Learning not to steal from innocents had been a struggle. Learning to deal with emotions instead of drinking them away had been hard. Learning not to run away when things became too hard was a process.

That clearly wasn’t over.

He was standing in front of Taiyang’s house, shivers going down his arms. Patch was never extremely cold but it was still February and unlike a certain someone, Qrow wasn’t used to the absence of sleeve on his arms in harsh temperatures. But he had left in a hurry.

“Brothers…” He whispered to himself. “Tai is going to kill me.”

So he knocked and waited, bracing himself for Taiyang’s moral lesson. Qrow was a man who never had time for sugar-coating and ever since they had met, he had always appreciated Taiyang’s blunt honesty. But today, he didn’t particularly look forward to it. Suddenly, the door opened and Taiyang appeared, wearing a thin t-shirt and goddamn it what was it with the men in Qrow’s life and their inability to cover their muscled arms? 

“Qrow? Is everything alright?” said the man, interrupting his thoughts.

“Yeah huh… Could I come inside ?”

Wordlessly, Taiyang stepped aside and let his former brother-in-law inside. Instantly, Qrow felt himself relax at the familiar atmosphere and his body warm up with the heat coming from the fire. Qrow sat down on his usual chair and waited for Taiyang to start asking questions. He didn’t have to wait long.

“What happened and do I need to punch some sense into you?”

“You will do that anyway.”

“Exactly.” Agreed the blond man in the kitchen. “So you might as well give me a good reason for it.”

Qrow sighed. He was already having a shitty night and he was starting to regret his decision to come here. Briefly, he thought that he should have gone to the other Xiao Long house before mentally scratching the idea. Yang could be even worse than her father and Blake only had so much control on her temper.

“Qrow? Qrow?”

Shaking his head, he looked up and saw Taiyang waving a hand in front of his face and two cups of tea on the table that weren’t there before.

“You spaced out, pal.”

“Sorry.”

Taiyang sat down and continued staring at him, clearly waiting for the shapeshifter to start talking. However, it became clear that the man was not going to cooperate (despite coming here on his own will).

“Are Clover and the kids alright?”

“You think I’d be here if they weren’t?” Qrow glared at him from above his own cup.

“Honestly, yeah. You do have a tendency to run away when things get hard.”

Qrow groaned and threw his head back, begging his Semblance to act up so he’d have a distraction and a opportunity of running away. He could turn into a bird and spend the night in a tree but Taiyang was used to his bullshit and Qrow knew the man would go around punching every tree on the island just to annoy him and kick his ass later.

“Clover and I had a fight okay? I just needed to get away.” Reluctantly admitted Qrow.

“I see. And did you tell him that or did you run off mid-argument like the drama queen you’ve always been?”

“Tai, please.”

“So you did run off.”

“Could you at least give me a chance to explain?”

That was apparently the wrong thing to say as Qrow saw the look in Taiyang’s eyes harden. There was no escape a good old scolding now.

“Oh, I’m sorry, were you expecting me to hug you, pat your head and tell you you did nothing wrong? You were arguing with your husband and decided that since you didn’t like it, you had the right to run away like a precious little princess. You have two fucking kids, one of them hold enough to understand his fathers were fighting and you decided to leave Clover alone to take care of them? So, you get to come here and drink tea by the fire with me while he has to deal with your children on his own?”

“Tai please I-“

“No. You run away, come here, refuse to explain yourself and whine when I decide to be pissed about it? What the fuck is wrong with you!”

Qrow flinched but didn’t try to defend himself. He knew what he was in for when he chose to come to Taiyang Xiao Long. He was a good guy ,but he had been a teacher for way too long and he was done putting up with people’s bullshit. Not to mention his temper. Deep down, Qrow knew everything he said was right and that he needed to hear it. It didn’t make it easier. He kept his head firmly locked on the fire, refusing to look at Taiyang in the fear of seeing something worse than anger. Anger, he could deal with. But disappointment, he couldn’t. He had spent the majority of his life disappointing people. The tribe, Raven, Team STRQ, his nieces and now, probably Clover. He thought he had left all the hurt and trauma behind but right now, sitting in a living-room he knew like the back of his hand, Qrow realized that maybe, just maybe, disappointing was something he was scared of.

After a few minutes of tense silence, Qrow finally took a look at his brother-in-law from the corner of his eyes. He was drinking his tea, completely ignoring the mess of a man in front of him. He had done his part and he couldn’t do anything about the situation on his own. 

“Listen I- ugh. Yeah, yeah you’re right. I ran off and yeah it was dumb. I just… Clover and I never fight so I just didn’t know what to do and I panicked.”

Taking his time to raise his head, Taiyang look at him, doubt written all over his face.

“What was the fight about? It better not be about something dumb or I swear to the Brothers I’m kicking you out.”

“I thought it was time for Ciel to learn how to fight. Or at least, how to defend himself. Clover disagrees.”

“…. That’s it? Almost ten years of dating and this is what it takes to take your relationship down?”

“Hey, my relationship is fine.”

“Sure.” Scoffed Taiyang

“Fuck you.”

“We’ve done that already and agreed that it would be a one-time thing. Did you forget?”

“Tai.” Warned Qrow.

The blond man raised his hands in surrender and gave Qrow a smile.

“Did you ask him why he doesn’t want Ciel to fight?”

“He says the war is over. That Salem is gone. I’ve been trying to tell him that Grimms are not, that everybody needs to be able to defend themselves and that a boy with two professional Huntsmen as fathers cannot be unable to wield a weapon. Think of your girls. Ever wondered how many lives they saved and how many times they saved themselves because we taught them how to fight?”

“Yeah. And I’m proud of my daughters, and I don’t regret teaching them how to fight. But this is also what lead them to leave home and go after a woman that was supposed to be immortal and unbeatable, a whole army after them.”

“And they saved the world.”

“They did. So children like Ciel won’t have to.”

“Great. So you’re taking his side.” 

Crossing his arms and looking away once more, Qrow felt his body tense up even more with each passing second.

“Qrow, by the brothers we are 47 years old. This isn’t about taking sides. I’m just seeing Clover’s point and I’m trying make sure you do too.”

“I- ugh, I do. I really do, but I can’t go back to work one day knowing my son is defenceless. I can’t.” 

The room fell into a silence once again, until Taiyang suddenly stood up to pick up his empty cup of tea and Qrow’s, who had barely taken a sip but was now cold.

“Listen. If you need to stay here tonight, you can. On the one condition that you call your damn husband and tell him where you are. But I think you should go home and just talk.”

Qrow hide his face in his hands and thought about what to do next. Staying over sounded good, safe. He could probably lock himself in his old room and try to forget about Taiyang and this situation altogether.

But on the other hand, Gaia and Ciel waited for him at home. And Clover did too. From the very beginning of their friendship, Clover had gone out of his way to make Qrow comfortable, supporting him no matter what. He had given Qrow everything the man convinced himself he didn’t deserve and had been nothing but good to him. Despite his troubled past and trauma, Qrow had done his very best to show the man just as much love. And it had worked. They started dating, saved the world together, got engaged, found Ciel, got married and adopted Gaia. Qrow was never a sap when it came to romance but even after seven years of knowing each other, nothing made him feel safer and more loved that Clover Ebi’s eyes and smile. Also, the guy was really hot. That was a very much appreciated bonus. Realizing he’s been waxing poetry about his beloved husband for a bit too long, Qrow made up his mind.

“I’m going home.” Standing up, he didn’t miss the way Taiyang was smiling at him.

“Good.”

Walking towards the door and opening it, he felt Taiyang grab his arm and turned to look at him. Nothing has prepared Qrow for the distant look in Taiyang’s eyes, like he wasn’t even looking at him. 

“Please don’t be like her, don’t run away.”

And suddenly, Qrow realized why Taiyang had lost his temper so quickly. Qrow was not Raven. They had common points, sure, but also a very different vision of what family means. Raven leaving Taiyang and their daughter behind had left a scar even Summer Rose wasn’t able to fix and Qrow couldn’t blame the man for projecting his fear onto his own couple. When his sister had left, Taiyang had made a point in showing Qrow he was able to make the difference between him, a devoted uncle and brother and her, a mother and a lover who had left everything and everyone behind. 

“I’m not going anywhere Tai. I’m not leaving anyone behind.”

Qrow closed the door.

🍀🍀🍀🍀

When Qrow arrived in front of his door, it was 10pm. Gaia was sleeping and Ciel was probably pretending to sleep, too engrossed in his new book to care about bedtime. At this hour, Qrow and Clover would usually be cuddling, watching TV or playing a game of cards. Qrow loved his children but he cherished those moments with his husband. Tonight however, he really wasn’t expecting his usual amount of cuddles.

Taking a deep breath, he opened the door and instantly regretting not having slept at Taiyang’s. Sitting on the couch was Clover with red eyes that made Qrow’s heart ache, Blake with a hand on his shoulder and Yang. Who looked pissed.

“WHERE THE FUCK WERE YOU?”

“Yang…” tried Qrow, raising his hand as if he was trying to tame a wild animal. Which wasn’t far from the truth.

“DON’T YANG ME. IT TOOK ME AN HOUR TO PUT GAIA TO BED BECAUSE SHE KEPT WANTING HER DADDY. IT WAS REAL FUN TO EXPLAIN TO HER THAT IT WASN’T HAPPENING.”  
Blake looked at her and raised her hand to brush her wife’s arm.

“Darling, I agree with you but you’ll wake her up with the shouting. Calm down please.”

“Maybe I should wake her up! Maybe then Qrow will act like the father he seems to forget that he is!”

The shapeshifter felt himself flinch upon hearing his niece’s words. He briefly looked at his husband who had now his head low, refusing to meet his gaze, and then at his other niece who was still rubbing Clover’s shoulder. Eventually, she gave his shoulder a final squeeze and stood up, heading for the door. But just as he was about to walk past Qrow, she hugged him briefly before letting go just as quickly.

“I’ll get the car started.” Blake said, looking at Yang. “Goodnight Uncle Qrow, goodnight Uncle Clover.”

Qrow heard the door shut and knew that the worst was to come. Not waiting to wake up his daughter and worry his son even more, he signed for Yang to follow him outside.

“I’l…I’ll be right back, Clover.” And his heart broke when Clover barely acknowledged him, merely nodding his head.

Qrow closed the door behind him and faced his niece, expecting the punch in the face Taiyang had forgot to deliver. 

“D’you know what I told Clover when I found out that you guys were dating?” she started. “I told him ‘hurt my uncle and I’ll break your legs.’”

“I know… He told me you and the others gave him the shovel talk.” Answered Qrow, unable to hide the small smile on his face at the thought of his kids protecting him.

“Yeah. And now I’m giving it to you, Qrow. Hurt my uncle again and I’ll break your legs.” A silence. Qrow biting his lips and finally, Yang wrapping her arms around his waist. “I waited for my entire life to see you this happy. Please don’t let it be ruined.”

Qrow scoffed and took his niece in his arms. She was a woman now, she was married and had a life of her own. But every time he looked at her, he could see the little girl he had helped raised and pride made his heart heavy.

“I won’t, Firecracker.”

🍀🍀🍀🍀

They had been sitting on the couch for a good five minutes now, unsure what to say. Qrow desperately wanted to say that he was sorry, but he could see it on his husband’s face, he had hurt him so much. Would sorry even be enough? But then again, it certainly couldn’t make things worse.

“Are the kids okay?”

_I am a dumbass._

“They are. Gaia is too young to feel what’s happening and Blake distracted Ciel with a new book. An age-appropriated one.” Clover added, knowing both men had had a glance at the type of literature the black-haired girl enjoyed.

“Good, good. I’m sorry…”

Clover sighed and stood up, his back to Qrow.

“We should go to bed.’

“I’ll take the couch.”

“No need.” Scoffed Clover, turning to him and laughing at the way Qrow’s eyes widened. “Listen, I. Ugh.”

Clover kneeled in front of Qrow who was still on the couch. 

“Qrow, we’ve been together for years now. This won’t be our last fight and it’s okay, we’ll be okay. I love you and I know you love me and yes, we’ll need to talk in the morning and yes, maybe we won’t reach an agreement in the end, but we’ll work it out. I’m mad, okay. I’m not denying that your actions tonight hurt me. But I think it’s enough for one day. Besides, I’m assuming Taiyang and Yang already did most of the scolding job.” He joked, nudging at Qrow’s knee with his hand.

“Yeah.” The shapeshifter smiled. “They did.”

“Come on.” Said Clover, taking his hand. “We’ll talk in the morning.”

That night, when Clover and Qrow went to bed, there was still tension in the air. They kissed each other goodnight but didn’t linger, wished each other goodnight but didn’t use pet names, went to sleep in the same bed but didn’t find the warm embrace of the other’s arms.

Qrow knew he wouldn’t find any peaceful sleep that night but as he felt Clover’s hand timidly wrapped around his own, he knew. 

They would be okay.

**Author's Note:**

> I love Taiyang. Can you tell I love Taiyang? I love Taiyang.  
> I chose to leave the fight unresolved because I believe not every situation can be solved with one conversation and then moving on. It's more complicated than that. But they love each other, they'll manage.  
> Thanks for reading and see you tomorrow!


End file.
